


I can't be alone with all that's on my mind

by Onedayatatime



Series: Walk Me Home (a Haus that feels like home) [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Buddy System, Friendship, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Protectiveness, being a woman is hard sometimes, college isnt always the safest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27599960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onedayatatime/pseuds/Onedayatatime
Summary: Ford has to stay late at rehearsal and loses track of time and calls Nursey to walk her home
Relationships: Denice "Foxtrot" Ford & Derek "Nursey" Nurse
Series: Walk Me Home (a Haus that feels like home) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016539
Comments: 15
Kudos: 41





	I can't be alone with all that's on my mind

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I used to do stage crew before theatre was put on indefinite hold, and Assistant Stage Manager is not a lesser position than Stage Manager. They are very different jobs, and SM’s are in charge of an ASM but they are actually pretty equal. It’s kind of like how Bitty was captain and a forward but that doesn’t make Dex or Nursey or Chowder less important, they just have different jobs. I’m not even entirely sure if this is important but as a (hopefully not) former crew member who was in nearly every department, it is important to me that this is known.

Ford had no intention of staying this late. But, this was her first production in a while, the season was over so she had time to give a show the time it deserved. She was still good, without a doubt, she was still one of the most organized assistant stage managers to grace the theater, but it was still different than she had expected it to be. She had to run a few changes with the crew late, and then props needed a hand, and then she saw that lights wasn’t quite ready, and then when she had climbed down from the catwalk after lights had finished up and left, she noticed the stage and backstage was a mess, and well… now it was well past midnight. She was lucky that the custodians generally did not care and let her stay as late as she wanted. They even slid her a key a few weeks ago, after she had dropped off a pie in their office. Bitty had taught her a thing or two, and if there was one thing she knew, it was that the most important people to befriend were the custodial staff. Also Mr. Jackson was really nice and had cool decorations in the office.  
She was packing up her backpack when she noticed the text from the head of lights 

  
**Kayla Zhu:** hey, there’s a dude sitting outside the theater, u might wanna call a buddy to walk you home  
**Denice Ford:** thanks for letting me know I’ll call someone

  
Ford was exhausted. It had only hit her as she hit send, sitting in an uncomfortable theater chair, that this was her third day with less than 4 hours of sleep in a row, and all she had had to eat in the last 12 was a granola bar and some chips. She needed to take better care of herself, she knew that, but it was difficult to remember to take care of yourself when you needed to take care of so many others. She knew that wasn’t an excuse, but still. She also realized how bullshit it was that she needed to call someone to walk her home.   
Samwell was safer than most other colleges, but that did not mean weird men standing outside the building at 1 am were not a problem. No, she knew what to do, always walk with someone at night. Her mother had given her pepper spray as a gift before she moved. She always carried her keys between her fingers. But it might have been the 20th hour awake, or the hunger talking, but she was mad that this was something she had to think about. She was so mad as she was pacing the theater she did not realize she had spilled someone’s can of Pepsi. Then she was filled with pure rage as she realized she was going to chew out every single member of the cast and crew alike for being so careless. So, she went backstage, grabbed paper towels, and she cleaned up someone else’s mess, and began to cry. Once the tears started falling they did not stop.  
Once it was cleaned up, however, she did not stop crying. She remembered that it was far too late at night and there was most likely a very creepy man standing outside waiting for her. So she did what anyone in her position (tired beyond comprehension, starving, dehydrated, and emotional) and called the first person she could find in her contacts that would be large enough to protect her.  
“Foxtrot, what’s up, it's like midnight?” a very clearly woken up Nursey asked.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you, just, nevermind.” She sniffled, feeling bad about waking up and about to hang up, but Nursey stops her.  
“It’s chill, are you crying? What’s going on?”   
“I just, I’m really tired, and everything sucks, and I’m going to commit a murder on Monday for how these people left the house, and there’s a weird guy standing outside, and I don’t want to walk back to the dorms by myself.”  
“I’ll be right there, I’ll knock 3 times on the stage door, let me in and we will leave that way. I’ll be there in 5. Be ready but don’t go outside.” She heard him rustling, presumably to put on clothes.   
So Ford sat by the door, only sniffling a little bit. Still a little teary. In her too-heavy backpack. Drinking water. Feeling like shit and feeling like a failure for feeling like shit, and feeling like shit for feeling like a failure because she knows that is all bullshit. She still feels it though.  
Luckily she is dragged out of her thoughts by a 3 knocks on the stage door. She opens it and feels the cool breeze of an autumn night. Nursey is standing there, in what seems like pajamas but could be work out clothes and a jacket. “Hey, you ready?” He asked with a concerned look on his face. Ford just nodded. He took the backpack from her.  
They got out of the building, and the man was still there. He started to walk towards them. He kept getting closer, and he was face to face with Nursey. Nursey puffed himself up, and he was already 6’2” and defense on Division 1 hockey team. This guy was scrawny as hell and a strong wind could break him.  
“Hey man, watch it.” Nursey said in a voice that Ford barely recognized. After a few very tense moments, the man walked off. Ford felt like she was about to cry, but she did not want to cry in front of Nursey. It was stupid but she did not want to make a fool of herself in front of him. “C’mon Foxtrot, let’s get you some food at the Haus.”  
Ford wanted to tell him she could be fine in her dorm, but she didn’t feel like arguing. Besides she wanted to be at the Haus anyway.  
They walked in relative silence, filled with the sounds of crickets and Foxtrot’s sniffles. She was too tired to be embarrassed. She was shivering, October at Samwell was freezing and she was in only her black t-shirt. Before she knew it, a large warm jacket was perched on her shoulders. She ended up leaning on Nursey, and he slung an arm around her. Despite how awful everything felt, it was nice. She felt safe, despite it all. She clung to his side, more than a little overwhelmed.   
When they got to the Haus, instead of going to the living room, Nursey plopped her on the kitchen table chair. “I know I’m nowhere near good as good at comfort food as Bitty, but I’ll do my best.”  
“I’m fine Derek really-”  
“It’s chill, don’t worry.” He gave her a slight smile as he poured her a glass of water. He started microwaving some taquitos and put a kettle on the stove. He took out the teabags from the top shelf and showed her the boxes.  
“Green tea, please. Thank you.” She smiled.  
“Don’t sweat it. Once you finish that glass of water, you can head upstairs and take a shower. I have a towel and some pajamas for you. They might not fit but um, it's probably better than sleeping in the same thing you've been wearing since yesterday.” He was also heating up mashed potatoes, Ford was choosing not to question it.  
“Thank you.” She still hadn’t quite found her voice. She trudged up the stairs and washed the sawdust, cobwebs, Pepsi, tears, and the day at large off her. Her head was both full of worry, and empty. It was like the worry was operating at such a high frequency she stopped noticing it.   
When she changed she noticed that Nursey had left her flannel pants that had a little tie on them, an old Andover T-shirt, and a sweatshirt she was swimming in. She decided he would have to kill her to get that sweatshirt back. He was being far too nice, and she should be beyond grateful. However. It was a really nice sweatshirt.  
She trudged back down, somehow more awake, but also far more relaxed. Nursey set a plate for her, 3 taquitos, mashed potatoes, and some toast. It was certainly a breakfast of champions. Or dinner, or lunch. Defining meals when you forgot to eat is weird.   
They sat in comfortable silence. “You wanna talk about it?”  
“Not really.”  
“That’s chill.”  
She took another bite of the toast. “It feels like I’m in over my head.”  
“You’ve done this a million times before, you’ve got this. It’ll be fine, it’s just that point in the production where it feels like everything is falling apart.”  
“I know. I just, I don’t know, I feel like I’m not good enough for this.”  
“You are, trust me, you are.”  
“Thanks Nursey,” She takes in a deep breath. “For all of this really.”  
“I’d do it for anyone, it’s chill.” He paused, taking a moment as if realizing that’s maybe what he said isn’t exactly what he meant to say. “I would do this for anyone, but also you’re important to me. I kinda think of you like you’re my little sister.”  
Foxtrot smiled, “It’s like you’re my big brother. It’s nice since they’re so far, I miss them. You’re a pretty good big brother.”  
“Yeah well, I’m glad you’re our manager. I knew you’d be good after you chewed out Preston in that Intro to Drama class last year.” He smiled into his cup of tea.  
“I am going to gouge out his eyes and feed them to the rats that live in the walls on Monday.” She said as if she was explaining she was picking up milk. He understood, he had been giving her problems since last year, and she was constantly updating him on the many near homicides throughout this production. He just hummed as a response.  
After a few minutes of more comfortable silence and eating Nursey asked, “You have rehearsal tomorrow?”   
She just shook her head. “Sunday is our off day, give the actors some vocal rest.”  
“Good, you can head upstairs, take the bottom bunk, I’ll put away the dishes.”  
The bed was missing a comforter, but Ford sank into the sheets, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She had a thin throw blanket that Nursey had on the chair, and that was good enough for her. Several minutes later, she felt a heavier quilt put over her, and a kiss pressed to her forehead. She would not remember in the morning, but Nursey would.

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive me I know nothing of Hockey, but i am trying. Also this is like 98% projection but I really really like Ford and I really liked the head canon that she and Nursey knew each other beforehand, I thought it would be cool if they shared a class together and were really close. Please leave comments and kudos, I want to know what you think


End file.
